CARS should be banned from Birmingham’s Broad Street at peak times in a bid to tackle congestion, travel experts said.

They want motorists barred from the city’s Golden Mile after 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

The call has been made by a new group involving bus watchdogs and National Express WM.

They feel the car ban is the only way to tackle the heavy traffic which is partly caused by drivers “cruising” up and down the street which attracts tens of thousands of club-goers each weekend.

Bus operator National Express already re-routes services away from Broad Street on Friday and Saturday nights because they are often held up for the best part of an hour. The car ban suggestion will now be put to the city council and West Midlands Police.

It follows a meeting between National Express, the Broad Street Business Improvement District (BID), Bus Users UK and the West Midlands Campaign for Better Transport.

They agreed that banishing cars would mean that buses would operate far more efficiently alongside a better regulated taxi system.

Phil Tonks, from Bus Users UK, said: “A main artery going from the west into the city is being clogged up. There are issues with the private cars and taxis. We are concerned as a user group that buses are held up.

“In my opinion there should be much better taxi organisation and no private cars, we would support this move.”

Kevin Chapman, from the West Midlands Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We accept there is a problem on Friday and Saturday and buses are being held up for 40 minutes. It needs sorting out and if that means banning cars, so be it, we can’t carry on as it is. There are a lot of people cruising and it’s getting unmanageable. It would mean buses can get back to Broad Street.”

A spokeswoman for National Express WM said there had been congestion on Friday and Saturday nights and buses could take up to 50 minutes to get up Broad Street.

She said: “We believe Broad Street should become a public transport and taxi only zone to improve safety and ease the traffic congestion.

“Until this is implemented, by diverting buses out of Broad Street at Five Ways and down towards Summer Row on a Friday and Saturday night, we are creating more reliable journey times for all our customers and ensuring our timetables remain accurate for people across the region.”

Mike Olley, Broad Street BID manager, said: “We are aware there is a lot of traffic congestion because the street is so successful and we’ve got to get to grips with that.

“We want to make Birmingham move more efficiently. We need symmetry between private and public transport on Broad Street.”

A Birmingham City Council spokesman said it would look with interest at the proposal.